Dialect on the Wizards of Hermes
| Ars Magica Primer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Game Setting | |
| Mythic Europe | |
| The Order of Hermes | |
|
The Order of Hermes The Code of Hermes The Peripheral Code Hermetic Book Cycle |
(Taken from Ars Magica Saga Pack, a old 2nd edition resource)
An excerpt from a report by Brother Reginald of the Abbey of Albernion, to the Diet of Avignon, the Year of Our Lord 1217. This report caused quite a stir among the clergy and nobility, as it was based on Father Reginald's sojourn among the magi of Belforay, and served to dispel some of the more outrageous legends concerning the wizards' ties to the forces of Satan. It has found its way into the libraries of many covenants, for many magi read it to understand how mortals view the Order. Some even value it as thoughtful criticism.
Esteemed Brethren in Christ:
Of course, you know of the Magi, those tormented souls who ignore the words of our faith and seek the evil knowledge from the past so as to acquire a mystical power. For long we have ignored these wizards, thinking them merely to be misguided spirits, but I have found them to be potent practitioners of magical arts, and to be feared. I have recorded, at the request of our Holy Father, all I have learned of them, that we might understand what these outcasts from society are truly like. I hope that not only will my manuscript enable you to guard against the danger they pose to us, but to rid you of some of your unfounded fears of them as well.
You must forgive me if I speak of matters of which you already know, but it is my feeling that I must ensure that I must ensure that every detail of their lives be stated clearly and without the clouding of fear and hate.
Magi all belong to the great Order of Hermes, their loose fellowship that guards against the conflicts that arose in the days of old. Today peace reigns among the members because of the strength of the Order and the wisdom of its Code. The wizards, today, all follow the Hermetic Order's centuries old traditions and recognize its tribunals' authority over all Hermetic concerns. Yet we should not fear them because they are united, for their Order only prevents conflicts between them and does not really serve to allow them to work together as a whole. The only time the wizards work with one another is within the safety of their own covenant.
Like-thinking members of the Order of Hermes live together in communities, which they call covenants. One cannot help but notice how close this name is to coven, yet despite the similarity, I am convinced that there is a vast difference. These wizards are not diabolists. While they are not one in the Spirit with the community of the Church, they are not hostile to the One True Faith, either. In many ways, the "covenants" even resemble the monastery in which I have resided for so many years.
Because of this similarity, I immediately understood how much of their covenant works and how the inhabitants think.. They are called covenants because each of the members makes a certain solemn oath to abstain from certain actions against their fellows and to resolve conflicts in the spirit of good faith. It seems the wizards are more frightened of each other than they are of the dangerous magics they weave.
Many magi have pet animals that are more than simply pets and that are also more than simply animals. The witch's black cat is well known, and magi form similar attachments to beasts of all varieties, even creatures of legendary nature. I saw, for instance, a painting of a wizards standing beside a small dragon. Upon inquiring, I was told "the drake was Lingroth's familiar." This seems extreme but I little doubt the veracity of this statement: the wizards have no need to lie. Wizards show remarkable attachments towards these beasts, and seem to have formed intimate relationships with them. Because they do not marry, their friendship with their familiar may often take its place. While it is certainly a sin, the wizards value them above all else.
Because the wizards can rarely be friends with one another, they often make friends with those who are educated or wise, but are without magical power. Indeed some wizards even thought of me as a friend, though in truth I could not bring myself to call them the same. The friends of the magi can be found in many town and dell, but most of them live with the wizards in their covenants. Many of them even seem like good people of God, so it is hard to understand why they endanger their souls by aiding the wizards. I met a hermit at the covenant, a holy man from the forest of Albien. When I inquired as to his purpose, he replied that he was doing God's work. He did not have the look of a mad man, yet I find it difficult to accept his words.
The magi also employ guards, whom they call "grogs." The magi say it means "hero" in some ancient language of unknown background, but a good monk in Sebastian monastery, a scholar of ancient languages, has assured me this is not so. Some wizards treat their warriors with contempt and scorn, and use magic upon them. Though I have witnessed a few demonstrations of genuine friendship between wizard and grog, they are mostly Lord and Vassal. The grogs are little more than unscrupulous mercenaries who have stooped so low as to fight for a sorcerer's silver. Yet the grogs seem to have a strange respect for most of their masters, and fight fiercely for them. I do not believe it is any sort of magical compulsion, nor is it the the coins they receive alone. Perhaps it is the freedom these grogs find within the confines of the covenant, and its usefulness as a refuge from all the complications of the outside world. Perhaps even these brutal mercenaries value the peace and solitude which they find at a covenant.
Every wizard has a private laboratory, and in it they study, research and brew foul strains of ancient magics by the week and month. In the time I spent at Belforay, one magus did not come from his laboratory the entire six months I spent here. The only reason I knew anyone was there at all was that one evening I spied a tray of food being brought into his rooms. The sanctum (a wizard's laboratory and quarters) of each wizard is designated with a warning mark. If a magus enters another's laboratory, that can be taken as a prima facie evidence that the other wizard was invading the sanctum. If one wizard is killed in another sanctum, the action is considered to be one of self defense. For this reason, none but the most friendly and trusting of wizards will enter another wizard's sanctum. Their study of arcane lore makes them fundamentally distrustful and cautious.
Just as we in the Church use Latin, so do the magi. Their latin is of a different nature than ours; their seminal texts from a more ancient time in Rome. The wizards claim they employ classical Latin, while we use a hybridized clerical Latin; this indeed may be true. I found myself quite able to read most of their texts. Glad was I that our Holy Father had given me a remission of all sins I might be forced to perform prior to entering the covenant, for such sacrilege did I read in their tomes.
Some wizards lead lives full of splendor and riches and others exist as would the most pious of friars. Money, wealth, and eastern trappings of luxury do not seem to interest most of them. The search for knowledge of both mundane and magical affairs seems to occupy most of their attention. They do not desire the wealth of the church but simply seem to want to be left alone. As I left the covenant where I was residing, several wizards made this clear to me. From their countenance, I judge what they say to be true. These wizards have monastic temperaments and wish to have nothing to do with society at large.
When magi greet one another, they cross their arms over their chests with their hands close. They never hake hands as is common among most folk, nor do they ever bow to one another, nor kiss the hand of another; they consider one another to be equal. Two magi who are very close friends may hold arms towards one another and clench hands, but this is very rare. The most virtuous of apprentices greet their master but never look directly into their master's eyes -- rather they look to the ground until given permission to look up by their master. This practice is often continued even after apprenticeship is completed. Other apprentices, more rebellious and proud, ignore this tradition. Some wizards honor those whom they respect by offering the same submission to them. This is a deeply symbolic act for most wizards, since most wizard will admit inferiority to no one.
The wizards have the peculiar belief that they are somehow above other folk, that they have loftier thoughts and ideals, and are aware of knowledge long gone from mortal ken. They are arrogant and haughty and clearly have forgotten our Lord's words about such vanity.
Belforay was inadequately guarded by the standards of most of the castles I have visited; indeed there was only one guard post for the entire citadel. But the wizards do not seriously fear attack, for their magic gives them warning of the things that cause them danger. I have been told that this is merely a characteristic of Belforay and that not all covenants are so ill-defended. Nearly all covenants weave a spell around their citadel which gives them magical protection against invaders and warning of magical scrying. They call this enchantment their "Aegis of the Hearth."
The government of the Order of Hermes seems to be entirely made up of infrequent tribunals of magi. These loosely organized gatherings have powers which are nebulous, but at times wield incredible authority. I was not allowed to witness a tribunal, but I was told they are highly ritualized affairs, in which decisions are made through the casting of ballots, in the form of objects called sigils -- a similar process to that used in ancient Greece. It is this antiquated form of government that seems to breed the strife and chaos in this arcane order of wizards.
Theere are many minor and major squabbles among the wizards, but the violence of such antagonisms seems to be largely held in check by their Code of Hermes. I found the wizards more willing to obey the law than many Knights who have taken the holy vows and fight as Templars for our Holy Church. They all have given an oath to uphold and abide by the code: this pledge is the only thing that holds them together. When they do have a disagreement they will generally agree to engage in a duel of immense magical potency, a ritual which they call certamen. I was able to witness many of these duels, and found them fascinating and terrifying affairs, for on such occasions one can see the magic they all hold, unleashed to its fullest extent. I was told that the ritual they use to begin the duel safely contains the magic, but I was still unsettled by what I saw. Most conflicts between the wizards, major and minor, are settled through certamen. In the Order of Hermes, it is the strong that rule, and there is no Church to protect the weak.
These words which I have signed, I pledge hold only the record of what I saw and heard in my sojourn among the wizards of Hermes, and are the truth as far as I know it.
Your humble servant in Christ,
